Republic of the Claw
"Here in our tunnels beneath Eagle territory, I want you two to secretly begin forming this Republic, even as I continue to lead the Scorpions as a whole. ''A contingency plan for the Scorpion Tribe, and for my legacy. By my claw, the survival of the scorpions will be ensured, either by my continued leadership, or by this Republic." ''-Scorpix The Republic of the Claw is a Scorpion government that was secretly created by Imperial General Scorpix during the Chima Alliance—Crawler Empire War, as a back-up ruling body to lead the Scorpion Tribe in case the Supreme Leader was killed, or captured indefinitely. Despite failing to absorb the majority of the Scorpion Tribe after the Crawler—Ice Hunter War, the Republic of the Claw became a powerful faction, was recognized as an individual tribe by the Lions, and became a founding member of Unichi, along with the Wolves and Gorillas. ---- History The Republic of the Claw was created by Scorpion Supreme Leader Scorpix at the time of the Roleplay, soon after the Bats and Scorpions annexed Eagle territory into the domain of the Crawler Empire, and after they learned that King Scorm was alive, and imprisoned by the Lions. It was Scorpix' belief that, if he were to be killed or captured like Scorm and Prince Scorpio, it would prove that the rule of a single King or Supreme Leader fundamentally wouldn't work for the Scorpion Tribe. Scorpix reached out to two high-ranking scorpions who had the same belief as him, and held a secret meeting with them in the newly-dug Imperial tunnels beneath Eagle Spire. Scorpix explained his ideology and concept to them, and tasked the two scorpions with forming his democratic government in the tunnels, while he continued to lead the Scorpion Tribe on the surface. If Scorpix was captured or killed, the Consuls he'd chosen would reveal themselves as the Supreme Leader's heirs, and lead the Scorpion Tribe's new government. Scorpix recorded the meeting, so that the Consuls could show it to the other scorpions as proof. For the time being, however, the republic was kept secret, building itself beneath Eagle territory (and Crocodile and Wolf territories soon after) on Scorpix' orders, as he continued fighting in the war with the Chima Alliance. After the Republic formed its small army, Scorpix contacted the Consuls, and told them about his secret plan to draw out The Combine. However, this plan ended up failing due to the unexpected invasion of the Vultures (see the Scorpix page). Crawler—Ice Hunter War After Scorpix and 70% of the Royal Scorpion Army were frozen by the Brotherhood of Vultures in The Iron Mountains, the Consuls (who'd since renamed themselves Craunus Maximus and Calloran Fen) surfaced atop Eagle and Croc territories, as did the republican scorpions under their command. However, as the Republic of the Claw reached out to the scorpions in the east, it was already too late; the scorpions in the Great Desert were also frozen by the Ice Hunters, and Scorpion Cavern Castle was taken over by the old King's brother, Scortica. Remaining Imperial scorpions from across Chima rendezvoused in the Eagle and Croc territories, but the bats left, flying and sailing to Bat Island on Grand Admiral Balthazar's orders. Soon after, two remaining members of Scorpix' Praetorian Guard came to Eagle territory, informing the Consuls that both Scortica's faction and the Scorpion Cavern Castle itself had been destroyed, and that the remaining Imperial scorpions there had formed a new faction called Team Stinger. Craunus Maximus and Calloran Fen appointed the Praetorian Guards, Sirius and Scarabus, as the Republic's Praetors, due to their war experience and close relation to Scorpix. Since the Crawler Empire had not made peace with the Chima Alliance before its fall, Maximus and Fen made it appear as if the Republic of the Claw was another splinter faction formed after the defeat of the Scorpion Tribe. However, this caused the Imperial holdouts in the Crawler Forest and The Grassy Plains to refuse to acknowledge the Republic of the Claw as a legitimate continuation of the Scorpion Tribe, and the scorpions in those regions remained unaffiliated with the Republic. Additionally, despite the Republic agreeing to go completely underground after pressure from the Bears, the Bears tunneled into the Republic's underground territory soon after, demanding for the scorpions to sign a permanent peace treaty. Maximus and Fen agreed to the treaty, and even allied with the Bear Tribe by the time negotiations concluded. Despite no longer technically being an extension of the Crawler Empire, which had allied with the Eagle and Croc tribes, the Republic also continued manufacturing vehicles for them, in exchange for a portion of the chi that the Lions delivered the the Eagles and Crocs monthly. Besides those alliances and relations, the Republic of the Claw remained an isolationist, literally underground nation, neutral towards the current wars on the surface. Minor "Conspiracy" After hearing that Scorpion Prince Scorpio had escaped the captivity of the Lions, and was lost in the sewers beneath Lion City, the Praetor Scarabus, who seemingly wasn't aware of the Republic's true origins, secretly sent some scorpions to find the prince, in order to restore the Scorpion Monarchy (at least, that's what was believed at first). However, his team returned empty handed, explaining that scorpions from Team Fire-Stinger had defeated them in the tunnels beneath Lion City, recruiting Scorpio themselves. The Consuls confronted Scarabus after hearing about this, but he and Sirius revealed that, not only had Scorpix told all his Praetorian Guards about the Republic and his plan to draw out the Combine, he had intended to tell Scorpio as well, believing that the young prince could be convinced of the effectiveness of democracy for the scorpions. Since the Consuls hadn't known about this, that caused the misconception that Scarabus had been wishing to restore the Scorpion Monarchy, which wasn't the case. Aftermath Soon after, the scorpions of the Republic learned that, after freeing Scorpix and the other frozen scorpions from Icestrike's Ultimate Glacier, Team Fire-Stinger (now the Stinger Brotherhood) was scattered throughout the Iron Mountains, Scorpix and the rest of his Praetorian Guard were slain by unknown adversaries, and Scorpio took command of the freed and regrouped Scorpion Tribe. The Consuls and Praetors began planning to fulfill Scorpix's dream to turn the Scorpion Tribe into a democracy, by overthrowing the newly crowned King and absorbing the rest of the tribe into their Republic. Fire—Ice War When the Crocodile Swamp was attacked and frozen without warning by the Sabertooth Tigers, the scorpions evacuated the remaining crocs into their tunnels and caves beneath their allies' territories. When the Phoenix and Tigers arrived at the swamp and battled the Ice Hunters, the republican scorpions resurfaced and obtained fire chi from the phoenix, which allowed the Praetors to lead their armies into battle with the sabertoothes without being frozen. After rescuing the remaining crocs and helping the Fire Tribes drive the Ice Hunters out of the swamp, the Republic forces worked at melting free the frozen parts of the swamp. Wolves and Lions arrived at the swamp, and began debating with each other, the scorpions, and the remaining crocs about who should control the territory. As the Consuls and Praetors traveled to Wargrimmar to meet with Wol'jin formerly, the highest-ranking scorpion remaining in the swamp met with the Croc Queen Carina, who'd escaped underground during the Sabertooth invasion. Meanwhile, the Consuls and Praetors, after meeting with Wol'jin and Ghana, relinquished the Republic of the Claw's alliance with the Bears in favor of allying with The Wolf Tribe and the Gorilla Republic. Creation of Unichi The three tribes formed Unichi, the new equivalent of the more or less defunct Chima Alliance. During that meeting, the Eagles finally made a statement on the Ice Hunters' invasion of the south, and elected Ewinus to replace their ineffective king, Eeran; the republican scorpions took note of this. After the Consuls and Praetors returned from Wargrimmar to their underground territory, the Republic of the Claw's foreign policy adopted a stronger presence among the surface tribes, due to the Republic's new role in the inland. Not long after the formation of Unichi, the old Scorpion King Scorm, who'd been resurrected by means unknown, appeared in the Republic's Great Hall beneath Eagle territory, accidentally transported there by The Forgotten. Craunus Maximus and Calloran Fen revealed the truth about the Republic's creation to their confused former king, and the angry Scorm was teleported away by Scrin, who arrived to discuss an alliance between The Forgotten and the Republic of the Claw. However, the Consuls explained why that wouldn't work at the moment, due to the terms of Unichi's treaty. Scorpion Tribe Takeover (To be added.) Legacy Era Little is known about the Republic of the Claw's leadership and territorial status in the years following the events of the Roleplay (as well as weather or not the Republic still leads the main Scorpion Tribe). However, the daughter of Calloran Fen, Solaris Fen, married Scorponok's son, Scorponok II, in the year 24 AR. The marriage subsequently ended any poor relations between the Stinger Brotherhood and the Republic of the Claw, and birthed an alliance between the two Scorpion factions. Power Structure The Republic of the Claw's power structure was a relatively simple one, in contrast to the more complex ranking systems of most of Chima's other republics. The highest rank was that of the Consul, held simultaneously by Craunus Maximus and Calloran Fen. The equal leaders held the most power over the faction, and could veto laws passed by the Citizens' Jury*, but only if both Consuls agreed to the veto; otherwise, a second vote for the Citizens' Jury* would be allowed. The one Consul who disagreed before would no longer have the power to veto the vote the second time around, unless he'd gotten the other Consul to agree with him. The second highest rank was that of the Praetor, held by both Scarabus and Sirius. As the second-in-commands of the Republic, they had power over the military, and, if currently in a war, the Praetors could lead the army into battle with the permission of the Consuls, and without the vote of the Citizens' Jury.* Of course, if the Republic wasn't currently in a state of war, the Consuls and Praetors could only initiate a battle if the Citizens' Jury* voted "yes". A preemptive strike was illegal, unless anyone obtained physical evidence that a different faction was planning to go to war with the Republic of the Claw. In that event (after the evidence was confirmed to be legitimate), any vote "no" from the Citizens' Jury* would be vetoed, and the Praetors could take the armies to attack the enemy faction at any time, if the Consuls agreed.** After the Republic took over the main Scorpion Tribe, the old Citizen's Jury (see below) was disbanded, in favor of all scorpions over the age of 18 having the right to vote. This was Scorpix' vision for the Scorpion Tribe, and sortition was only a temporary system he'd set up, to be used by the Republic until the Scorpion Tribe was taken over. Other than that, the power structure and veto system remained the same. (FORMERLY) Below the Praetors, who held the highest military power, all members of the Citizens' Jury technically held the rank of third-in-command. Any scorpion within the Republic at least 18 years of age could apply for a spot on the Citizens' Jury. Because of the Republic's sortition system, any scorpion wanting a seat on the jury would need to take an intelligence test, which had been written and prepared by Scorpix before his death (currently, almost every Republic citizen above 18 years of age is on the jury, a testament to the intelligence of the scorpions Scorpix, Maximus, and Fen had selected to create the Republic in the first place). The Citizens' Jury had the power to vote on all major acts and laws that the Republic would pass or deny. The Citizens' Jury was not comprised of multiple political parties, and the majority vote of the people would win. *Now all adult citizens of the Scorpion Tribe. **This last rule was altered slightly after the formation of Unichi; the Praetors would now need permission from both the Consuls and the other leaders of the alliance before initiating a preemptive attack on any enemy faction, except for the Ice Hunters, who Unichi was already at war with since its conception. Trivia * The Republic of the Claw's origin and naming convention was inspired by the Empire of the Hand from the Star Wars Expanded Universe. * Originally intended by JGREAD to be another Scorpion splinter faction during the Crawler—Ice Hunter War, the Republic of the Claw was later retconned to be a direct creation of Scorpix, acting as a posthumous expansion of the Scorpion RPC's story. Category:Factions Category:Governments Category:Scorpions Category:Fire/Fire Chi Category:History Category:All Articles Category:Politics